Virtual Horizon in my Viewfinder... Nice!

I've got several thousand clicks on my D7100 and, maybe I'm a total idiot but...

I just discovered the option to turn on the "Virtual Horizon" in the viewfinder and I'm pretty stoked about it, simple as it is. I actually kind of chuckled when I first saw it, but it'll work! Feeling a bit foolish, but excited too.

....

haha! That's one of my favorite "bells and whistles". There has been a handful of times that I didn't agree with it but for the most part it's pretty accurate.

I want one ...

Horoscope Fish said:

I've got several thousand clicks on my D7100 and, maybe I'm a total idiot but...

I just discovered the option to turn on the "Virtual Horizon" in the viewfinder and I'm pretty stoked about it, simple as it is. I actually kind of chuckled when I first saw it, but it'll work! Feeling a bit foolish, but excited too.


....

Click to expand...

I felt the same way my first time too.lol

Yes I use mine a lot and it works good.

Horoscope Fish said:

I've got several thousand clicks on my D7100 and, maybe I'm a total idiot but...

I just discovered the option to turn on the "Virtual Horizon" in the viewfinder and I'm pretty stoked about it, simple as it is. I actually kind of chuckled when I first saw it, but it'll work! Feeling a bit foolish, but excited too.

Click to expand...

Does that enable you to make sure your shot is level? I've seen it but kind of passed it by (and one of the most frequent posts I do is levelling my snaps).

My Fn button is programmed for it! Love it - I'm a total basket-case when it comes to keeping things level or vertical (either my eyes or my brain is crooked :grumpy: ) and has been quite dependent on the virtual horizon when I don't want to throw away too many pixel straightening out crops in post-production.

Cool!

Off I go to look up "virtual horizon" in the user manual........

I liked the grid in my D80. I used to have it over my viewfinder permanently. I don't really like the short lines on the D7100. I don't find them anywhere near as useful as I often "lose" them in the scenery. Is it possible to turn them on permanently? I can only see how to set them in live view, and I don't use that.

The virtual horizon was not as good as I was thinking but will be useful all the same.

Dave_W said:

haha! That's one of my favorite "bells and whistles". There has been a handful of times that I didn't agree with it but for the most part it's pretty accurate.

Click to expand...

Going to give it a whirl... I can use a little help with keeping things level.

Jonathan said:

Does that enable you to make sure your shot is level? I've seen it but kind of passed it by (and one of the most frequent posts I do is levelling my snaps).

Click to expand...

Yes. Both horizontally and vertically it seems.

Vixen said:

I liked the grid in my D80. I used to have it over my viewfinder permanently. I don't really like the short lines on the D7100. I don't find them anywhere near as useful as I often "lose" them in the scenery. Is it possible to turn them on permanently? I can only see how to set them in live view, and I don't use that.

Click to expand...

You can turn the viewfinder grid-lines off in the Custom Settings menu, I forget where...

....

Horoscope Fish said:

Going to give it a whirl... I can use a little help with keeping things level.



Yes. Both horizontally and vertically it seems.



You can turn the viewfinder grid-lines off in the Custom Settings menu, I forget where...

....

Click to expand...

I don't want to turn them off. I'd like them bigger and better. I would like to know if you can have what they call the "Framing Guide" (which were called gridlines on the D80 IIRC) on in the eyepiece viewfinder at all. I found a line crossing the entire viewfinder much more useful than the D7100's short grid lines.

Vixen said:

I liked the grid in my D80. I used to have it over my viewfinder permanently. I don't really like the short lines on the D7100. I don't find them anywhere near as useful as I often "lose" them in the scenery. Is it possible to turn them on permanently? I can only see how to set them in live view, and I don't use that.

The virtual horizon was not as good as I was thinking but will be useful all the same.

Click to expand...

The importance is that whenever you change the angle of your crop not in increments of 90 degs, you throw away a lot of pixels (I know with 24mp, we can afford to throw a lot away!) so not having to make any angular adjustment during post-production is a good thing.

There is a grid in the D710 viewfinder. Turn it on under "Custom Setting Menu" (the "pencil") and selection "d" - Shooting/display -> d2 "Viewfinder grid display" - turn it on.

Now if you want different grid lines, you can buy this (scroll to the bottom and select different "composition markings" which will give you different lines etched on the glass.)

Vixen said:

I don't want to turn them off. I'd like them bigger and better. I would like to know if you can have what they call the "Framing Guide" (which were called gridlines on the D80 IIRC) on in the eyepiece viewfinder at all. I found a line crossing the entire viewfinder much more useful than the D7100's short grid lines.

Click to expand...

Durrr... I misread your post.

I don't like the short lines either but that's what we get with the '7100. The D80's were something like this, no?


.....

Vixen said:

I liked the grid in my D80. I used to have it over my viewfinder permanently. I don't really like the short lines on the D7100. I don't find them anywhere near as useful as I often "lose" them in the scenery. Is it possible to turn them on permanently? I can only see how to set them in live view, and I don't use that.

The virtual horizon was not as good as I was thinking but will be useful all the same.

Click to expand...

Have a look at the virtual horizon when in live view... It's much more what you will have been expecting - A bit like the VH in a plane!

I have it programmed to one of my buttons and use it a lot, especially with landscapes etc where the horizon isn't flat.

SteveH said:

Have a look at the virtual horizon when in live view... It's much more what you will have been expecting - A bit like the VH in a plane!

I have it programmed to one of my buttons and use it a lot, especially with landscapes etc where the horizon isn't flat.

Click to expand...

I can't use live view. I think a combination of strong sunlight and the grease/sweat off my face, and poor eyesight (yes, I have new glasses on order) makes it impossible to even see, let alone use to do anything with. I don't like it anyway. I like my eye to the eyepiece

Now....if you can get that into the view thru the eyepiece maybe I would be happy. They cannot make a camera that suits every single person realistically. For those of us that don't/can't like the tools provided, we have to find another way I think

Horoscope Fish said:

Durrr... I misread your post.

I don't like the short lines either but that's what we get with the '7100. The D80's were something like this, no?

.....

Click to expand...

Yes....like that. You can't lose those lines in your view

Vixen said:

Yes....like that. You can't lose those lines in your view

Click to expand...

Check out the link in yauman's post.

yauman said:

The importance is that whenever you change the angle of your crop not in increments of 90 degs, you throw away a lot of pixels (I know with 24mp, we can afford to throw a lot away!) so not having to make any angular adjustment during post-production is a good thing.

There is a grid in the D710 viewfinder. Turn it on under "Custom Setting Menu" (the "pencil") and selection "d" - Shooting/display -> d2 "Viewfinder grid display" - turn it on.

Now if you want different grid lines, you can buy this (scroll to the bottom and select different "composition markings" which will give you different lines etched on the glass.)

Click to expand...

Yes, I use that already. My beef is that the lines do not go all the way across the view. They are a little too short for my personal taste.

Oh well, I guess I have to make do. I rarely need to straighten shots, so they are helping but I just liked the D80 system better

Jonathan said:

Check out the link in yauman's post.

Click to expand...

Yep, done that. Might consider that once the warranty is out.